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Hansel and Gretel

Scottish writer Stuart Paterson now has a
back catalogue of sufficient scale to warrant a revival or two; his adaptation
of Roald Dahl’s George’s Marvellous Medicine is currently doing good
business at Dundee Rep while, here, Citizens Theatre artistic director Dominic
Hill gives fresh life to Paterson’s stage adaptation of the old German
fairytale, first performed at Edinburgh’s Royal Lyceum in 1998.

There are, of course, plenty of moral points made to: in some respects, this is a tale about growing up and coming to terms with loss

In most respects, Paterson’s script keeps
close to the original, first published by the Brothers Grimm in 1812: a woodman’s
son (Hansel) and daughter (Gretel) are left deep in the woods at the behest of
their vindictive step-mother, and eventually fall into the clutches of a wicked
witch in a sweetie-built cottage. Paterson’s version adds two things: firstly,
a wider story arc concerning the escape a monstrous witch in ancient times;
secondly, the idea that the child-eating witch is now the nominal head of a
colourful circus, whose members search the woods for others to take their place
in the witch’s oven.

It’s this latter element that clearly
most inspired Hill; the curtain is dominated by the huge face of a laughing
clown, and the promise of “The Greatest Show on Earth” comes from the “Citizens
Circus”! Also, given that Hill appears reluctant to start any show with a
rising curtain, members of the circus troupe first appear, with baggy-trousered
“Uncle Shoes” (a wonderful as ever Peter Collins) making mischief among the
arriving audience. Quite apart from having genuine stage presence, Jack Dorning
(as the acrobatic Rab) deserves praise for so effortlessly walking on stilts
across the steeply ranked Citizens Theatre stage. The titular stars, meantime,
are Shaun Miller (Hansel) and Karen Fishwick (Gretel), who effectively recreate
the innocence and hot/cold emotions of childhood without ever feeling too
sweet. Good value in terms of a boo-hiss villain is provided by Irene Allan who
plays both the Stepmother and the child-munching La Stregamama, which we
latterly understand to be different personifications of the ancient evil witch.

Lizzie Powell’s painterly lighting, along
with the harshly contrasting sets and costumes by Rachel Canning, combine with
Nikola Kodhabashia’s score (largely performed live on stage, albeit always near
the wings) to create a wonderfully strange world that’s as full of delights as
it is fears. There are, of course, plenty of moral points made to: in some
respects, this is a tale about growing up and coming to terms with loss—“Everyone
leaves us,” says Hansel on more than one occasion, but equally Gretel finally
embodies the belief “the courage and love that lives in your heart is the
strongest magic in the world”. When a fleeing Gretel announces that she’s going
to turn back and fight the witch, the audience can’t help but cheer.

Full of incident and interest, this is a
worthy revival of a show that just fits the Christmas period perfectly.

Paul F Cockburn is an Edinburgh-based freelance journalist focused on arts, equality issues, and popular science. Since 2012 he has become one of Broadway Baby's most regular contributors; as Scotland editor he coordinates the site's Scottish theatre coverage outside of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

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The Blurb

A delicious festive treat for all the family this Christmas!

Run away to the circus with Hansel and Gretel!

Left deep in the forest with no hope of finding their way home, Hansel and Gretel stumble across a colourful group of performers from a magical circus. They meet Rab, the greatest acrobat who ever lived; Moff the bravest horse rider in all the world, and Uncle Shoes, the clown with the biggest shoes, funniest face and biggest pants!

Together they must rescue Rab and Moff’s father from the hungry witch and find their way home. But they can’t do it alone – they need your help! Join Hansel and Gretel on a magical adventure this Christmas.

Directed by Dominic Hill, whose five-star production of A Christmas Carol captivated audiences in 2014.

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